Qi Circulation Through the Heavens, That Was How It Worked

"Demons are [Essence Treasures]?"

"Or rather, the flesh of demons counts as one kind of [Essence Treasure]!?"

Li Xian had always been clever. Seeing this, he immediately guessed what had happened.

When Madam Wen summoned him before, it had not been out of concern for the guards' casualties. She had been confirming the trail of the "demon."

After that, she sent Pang Long and Li Xian out of the manor together to collect the overdue rent. The "Beast-Driving Bell" Pang Long had taken was probably fake. It should have been an "Animal-Luring Bell" instead.

It was just that the Snow Demon Monkey was exceptionally clever and highly sensitive to danger, yet it had not shown itself.

Perhaps... Madam Wen had followed behind them on that trip, too.

And now, with the wind and snow raging more fiercely than ever, Madam Wen had sent Li Xian to buy rouge, once again using him as bait.

To lure the Snow Demon Monkey out.

The raging wind and snow could serve as cover, making it difficult for the Snow Demon Monkey to detect her presence.

As for why it was "Li Xian"-

The Snow Demon Monkey probably had another trait, called "narrow-mindedness." If it had ever missed a meal of [Human Food], then given another chance, it would surely make up for it.

Feng Huo had been just like that.

Madam Wen had known this long ago, which was why she had used Li Xian as bait.

"So that means..."

"Even Madam Wen would have trouble catching up with the Snow Demon Monkey in the snow."

"Otherwise, why lure it out?"

Li Xian privately gauged Madam Wen's strength.

"You. Not bad."

"If you don't want to freeze to death, keep up."

A distant, ethereal voice drifted over. The wind and snow howled without pause, but the voice remained perfectly clear.

Li Xian pulled his thoughts back to the present.

Madam Wen walked several yards ahead of him and had not glanced at him once. To avoid losing his way, Li Xian followed close behind.

In the wind and snow, he could smell a faint, delicate fragrance.

Li Xian lowered his head and trudged onward, the fire in his heart burning ever more fiercely. He wanted to grow stronger, strong enough to have a say in whether he lived or died!

Today, he had been bait.

He had had no choice.

If he could help it, he did not want to go through it a second time.

Inside One Accord Manor.

"So that was how it was."

Pang Long let out a long sigh and brought Li Xian a pot of hot tea.

The stove was burning Sun-Scent Charcoal, which was highly effective at warding off the cold. The warmth gradually brought feeling back to Li Xian's stiff, frozen limbs.

After another sip of hot tea, he had almost completely recovered.

When Pang Long saw the charcoal had burned down, he added a few more pieces.

He had already heard about what happened in the snow. Patting Li Xian on the shoulder, he said, "Coming back alive this time is already a good thing. Don't dwell on it. Someone like Madam Wen..."

He seemed about to say something, but then stopped.

"I understand."

Li Xian held the hot tea, his expression calm.

It would have been a grave mistake to think Madam Wen was some merciful, living bodhisattva.

Someone who had established such strict rules for the manor could hardly be ordinary.

"Commander Pang, does 'Essence Food' mean the flesh and blood of demons?" Li Xian took the opportunity to ask. "If so, then to martial artists, demons aren't a threat but a treasure?"

"Yes... but not quite." Pang Long furrowed his brow. Li Xian was a Grade-C House Guard, and had no right to ask about such matters.

But after weighing it over, Pang Long still said, "You can only call it 'Low-Grade Essence Food.'"

"The flesh and blood of demons often contain poison. If you're going to consume it as 'Essence Food,' you need to cook it over a fierce fire to boil away the toxins."

"The world is vast, full of wonders. The finest [Essence Treasures] are born of heaven and earth. But for people like us, how difficult it is to even get a single bite of such a treasure."

"The taste... is even harder to put into words."

"Demons also prey on humans. How many martial artists who have undergone Bone Recasting eventually die at the hands of demons? They kill and devour one another... it's more like they're natural enemies."

At that, Pang Long felt a surge of longing.

He had once been lucky enough to see a genuine [Essence Treasure].

"Commander Pang, when we were walking through the snow just now, my Inner Qi flowed through my meridians to ward off the cold. It worked several times better than clothing." Li Xian asked, "If I can achieve Qi Circulation Through the Heavens, wouldn't I no longer fear the cold?"

"Not so." Pang Long shook his head. "Qi Circulation Through the Heavens can indeed improve your resistance to the cold, but staying exposed to wind and snow for too long still isn't a good idea."

"Besides, there are many strange climates in the world. For example, in a certain abyss, snow has fallen without stopping for a thousand years, and the place is filled with a kind of extreme cold."

"Even a martial artist who has undergone Bone Recasting would freeze into an ice sculpture if they entered a place like that."

"I often hear you mention Qi Circulation Through the Heavens..." Li Xian said. "But I don't know what it is. Commander Pang, could you explain it to me?"

Outside, the wind and snow were swirling.

After narrowly escaping death, Li Xian yearned even more for strength. Naturally, he would not let this opportunity to ask Pang Long for guidance pass him by.

He asked the questions that had been piling up in his heart.

These questions seemed like common knowledge, yet were often difficult to get clear answers to. You had to rely on fortuitous opportunities, or the mood of those above you.

Even Pang Long was quite stingy about this. Whenever Li Xian asked him about such matters, he always held back. Even when he let something slip, it was only a thing or two, revealed through the cracks beneath his fingernails.

After all, he had picked up these things bit by bit through the cracks beneath other people's fingernails, then gathered and organized them himself.

"Qi Circulation Through the Heavens..."

Pang Long stood up. Seeing that Li Xian had done Madam Wen a service, he was willing to impart some knowledge to him as a kind of compensation.

He gave a slight shake, and a faint white film appeared across his skin. It vanished in an instant. Then he said, "There are three hundred and sixty-one meridian points in the human body."

"Starting from the Dantian, Inner Qi flows like a thread, passing through the meridian points. When the Inner Qi flows without stopping, scattering, sinking, or becoming weak, and forms a complete circuit, that is called 'Qi Circulation Through the Heavens.'"

"Once an ordinary martial artist reaches this level, they can lock in their Qi and Blood. The decline of their Blood Qi slows considerably."

"That means their martial life will last longer, too."

"For men, twenty-seven or twenty-eight is when their Blood Qi peaks. For women, it's thirty-one or thirty-two. If you can't reach the 'Qi Circulation Through the Heavens' realm before then,"

"your Blood Qi will dry up more with each passing year. Unless some extraordinary opportunity comes your way, your path in the Martial Dao will have reached its end."

All of this fell within the Initial Martial Realm's "Clay Embryo Realm."

"I was twenty-nine when I barely managed to reach Qi Circulation Through the Heavens."

"So... train hard. You have good talent. Keep at it, and maybe you'll reach my level."

Pang Long smiled.

"Qi Circulation Through the Heavens... Once you reach this level, you're still just a 'Clay Embryo,' but your stamina, Qi and Blood, and recovery are all far greater than those of ordinary people."

Li Xian listened, spellbound, and forgot to drink his tea. "How do you reach Major Accomplishment? Can you do it just by practicing martial arts and accumulating Inner Qi?"

"Yes and no..." Pang Long's bushy brows furrowed. He thought for a moment, then continued:

"It's hard to say. Take the young masters of some Aristocratic Clans, for example. They have plentiful resources. With eating, nourishment, training, and soaking, a month of their regimen is worth a year of hard training for people like us."

"People like that... only need to master three to five Basic Martial Arts to Minor Accomplishment to reach Qi Circulation Through the Heavens."

"Or there are those born martial arts geniuses. We're born Clay Embryos. But they aren't. They're Bronze Embryos, Silver Embryos, Gold Embryos, Jade Embryos, Phoenix Embryos, Dragon Embryos... How can you compare yourself to someone like that?"

At this, Pang Long drank his tea in one gulp as if it were wine and sighed, "Sometimes, the gap between people is greater than the gap between people and pigs."

Pang Long looked at Li Xian. "Just look at you. You've got what it takes to accomplish great things."

"Twice you've faced life-or-death danger. Look at you-you stayed so calm both times. If you'd been born into a good family, who knows? You might really have become a flying dragon."

"But your fate was bad. Who can you blame?"

"Still, things aren't bad now. If you keep making steady progress, you've got Grade-A potential."

Li Xian didn't take it to heart. He asked, "Commander Pang, based on your experience, about how long does it take to achieve Qi Circulation Through the Heavens?"

Pang Long gave him a sidelong glance. "The thing martial artists should avoid most is reaching too far."

"Let me use myself as an example. Before achieving Qi Circulation Through the Heavens, I practiced nothing but Basic Martial Arts."

"Two at Major Accomplishment, three at Minor Accomplishment, and five at Proficiency. I learned about ten martial arts in total. The Inner Qi I accumulated was just barely enough for Qi Circulation Through the Heavens."

"Ten martial arts... It took me three years to bring the first one, a fist technique, to Major Accomplishment."

"After that, I learned by analogy. My progress was already much faster when I practiced basic fist techniques. Within a year, I brought another fist technique to Minor Accomplishment and one to Proficiency."

"After that, I trained diligently without pause. By the ninth year, I had one at Major Accomplishment, four at Minor Accomplishment, and five at Proficiency. But I still hadn't achieved Qi Circulation Through the Heavens. So I took a desperate risk and practiced martial arts in a way that wrecked my body."

"At last, I brought one more fist technique to Major Accomplishment. Only then did I achieve Qi Circulation Through the Heavens and lock in my Qi and Blood."

"Now I understand..." Li Xian nodded to himself. "So that was how it worked."